Parrent Smith Investigations

Parrent Smith Investigations is a full service investigative agency. Our cases involve a variety of different industries and types of investigations. Below are a sampling of case studies that describe the results we have accomplished for our clients. The cases on the links below present some of the diverse areas and situations in which we have provided assistance to clients. If a case study reminds you of a problem or legal action you are working on, please call us. If you don't see a case like the one you are involved in, however, that doesn't mean we haven't handled similar cases. We'd love to hear about your unique case.

General Litigation Cases:

ASSET SEARCHES
Summary: Our client, an insurance company, had secured a judgment for more than $500,000 against a cagey real estate developer who had multiple corporations and LLCs behind which he hid himself and his assets. Our investigation lasted several months because every time we located his new business and banking information, he would transfer all of the property and monies to a new entity. We eventually got ahead of his game by carefully reviewing his trash (which he placed at the curb) every Wednesday night. In spite of the hot pursuit by the insurance company, this con man forgot about using a shredder for his most important documents. We were able to coordinate the service of a writ of execution on his accounts at a brand new bank the very day that he opened them.
Summary: Our firm was hired by attorneys of the Casmalia Steering Committee representing the one of the many Potentially Responsible Parties in a lawsuit in which the Environmental Protection Agency was seeking cleanup settlements from the former owners of a hazardous waste site. One of the owners was asserting he was broke, but we were able to find assets he had not disclosed and prove that he had more than adequate resources to pay his share of the cleanup. This is an example of the kind of work our firm can provide litigators seeking to identify undisclosed or hidden assets of a party involved in a lawsuit. The full story...
CRIMINAL DEFENSE
Summary: Our client was involved in a two-car accident in which the other driver died. The CHP officer's report, which was very detailed with measurements, diagrams and photographs, and was 19 pages long, concluded that our client was at fault and recommended that she be prosecuted for vehicular manslaughter. Our investigation proved our client innocent.The full story...
Summary: In this case in San Jose, CA, the District Attorney planned to charge our client with two counts of first-degree murder. After a verbal altercation with two Samoan men, our client shot and killed them both with a high-powered rifle. Our investigation helped the defense attorney make a reasonable argument for two second-degree murder charges rather than first degree. He was successful and the client pled guilty to those charges.The full story...
Summary:A young man was accused of stealing electronic chips worth $50,000 from his employer, a firm in Santa Clara, CA. Based on the police investigation, the DA was ready to charge this employee with Grand Theft. Fortunately for him, the owner of the firm retained us to do a thorough investigation of the theft. We discovered the real thief, another employee, and the young man was not prosecuted.The full story...
EMPLOYMENT LITIGATION
Summary: In this case, our firm discovered that the plaintiff in a sexual harassment action not only was a prostitute, but also had been an actress in at least one porno film. This information helped the defense reach a quick and mutually acceptable settlement with the plaintiff, whose attorney had referred to her as a "China Doll". This case is a colorful example of how employment cases can often be resolved prior to litigation, once the facts are uncovered. The full story...
INSURANCE / WIRE FRAUD
Summary: We handled the investigation and partial recovery of a $7 million dollar fraud perpetrated on an insurance company. We were able to provide information and evidence that led to the arrest of the person behind the scam and recover $3 million so far - the case is ongoing. It is an example of ways we can help attorneys with insurance, commercial and other business clients, as well as those involved in special investigations of a criminal nature. The full story...
PERSONAL INJURY
Summary: In a personal injury case, our firm located and conducted an interview with a key witness of an accident. The way the interview was conducted made all the difference in helping our client obtain a favorable verdict.The full story...
Summary: In a personal injury case, our firm helped our plaintiff client recover damages from a negligent apartment complex after she had been raped, beaten and left for dead. We used an "investigative blitzreig" to find the information needed to help her obtain a favorable settlement.The full story...
POLITICAL / BUSINESS
Summary: A company that manufactured emergency cell phones suspected that they might not get the contract they were bidding on in a Southern California County because of a close friendship between one of the county supervisors and the owner of a competitive company. Our firm discovered that the competitive company had asked employees to make donations to that county supervisor's campaign and then had reimbursed those donations. This information was turned over to the attorneys for the company, and the company subsequently won the $20 million dollar contract. This case is an example of how good investigators can help business clients, as well as how we can offer support in sensitive political situations. The full story...
PRE-LITIGATION SUPPORT
Summary: Investigative agencies are not only valuable once litigation begins but can also be very helpful in determining whether or not to go forward with an action, as the following example shows. Our clients were two law firms representing a women's rights organization and several individual plaintiffs who were considering a sex discrimination suit against a well-known organization. We were able to find a great deal of evidence regarding the organization and its relationship to the county in which it was located. The attorneys, however, ultimately decided they did not have strong enough ground on which to go forward with the lawsuit. The full story...
SKIP TRACING / FINDING A SON
Summary:We were contacted by a mother whose adult son had not been in contact with his parents for some time. Despite the fact that he was currently living "off the grid", we were able to locate him through diligent field work and the family was reunited. The son had been depressed because he lost a job and embarrased to contact home.
SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS/ FINDING A SEX-ABUSE VICTIM
Summary: Our client asked us to locate a former victim of child sexual abuse 12 years after the crime took place to determine what happened. The perpetrator was publicly claiming his innocence on a website. Although we did not have her name, after several attempts, we located the victim and interviewed her and her parents. We found that the stories of the victim and her parents all confirmed the perpetrator's guilt. The victim, who had just begun dealing with her childhood abuse, welcomed the opportunity to set the record straight. The full story...
SURVEILLANCE / STALKING A STALKER
Summary: Our client was a very high-profile individual who was being harrassed by a former employee. We located the address and workplace of this individual and surveilled the subject until law enforcement got involved and the subject was arrested, tried and convicted.
SURVEILLANCE / ORDERED BY THE COURT
Summary: In an unusual case, the Judge in a Worker's Compensation dispute ordered the insurance company to do overt surveillance on the subject, since the subject had complained about being frightened by ominous looking covert surveillance operatives hired by the insurance company. The attorneys for both sides proposed investigative companies to do the surveillance and the Judge selected our company. We complied with the request by the subject that we use female surveillance operatives and provided overt surveillance coverage almost everyday for over four months. Finally, after a successful settlement conference, the Judge allowed the insurance company to stop the surveillance.
WHITE COLLAR CRIME
Summary: A San Francisco shipping company was concerned about its steeply escalating operating costs. The company executives felt they were missing about $2.5 million and worried that they were the possible victims of an internal fraud, although they had no suspects. They contacted their attorneys, who retained our firm. We were able to identify the fraud and the employee who had perpetrated it, as well as locate the bulk of the stolen money. This is an example of how our firm can help attorneys whose practice involves special investigations and white-collar crime and those whose clients include a wide range of business and commercial entities. The full story...

Environmental Litigation Cases:

Unlike many investigative agencies, we have vast experience in environmental litigation. Below is a sampling of some of the cases we've worked on in the environmental area:

ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
Summary: On an environmental case involving a large international port and an oil company, Parrent Smith investigators dug deeply and found information dating back to the early 1900s that helped our client win a favorable settlement of the case. The full story...
Summary: In U.S. v Casmalia, a case in which the EPA was suing for funds to be used for the cleanup of a superfund site, our investigation into the financial condition of some of the parties who were making de minimus offers helped our client save significant sums by keeping those defendants in the PRP pool. (See also, Identifying Assets) The full story...
Summary: A very large Semiconductor Company was sued under CERCLA for causing groundwater pollution in Phoenix, Arizona. Our investigators saved the Semiconductor Company the financial burden of the full clean-up by locating over 250 additional PRPs (Potentially Responsible Parties) to share in the clean-up. The full story...
Summary: Our client, Caltrans (California Department of Transportation), was one of the Potentially Responsible Parties in the clean-up of a seven acre oil recycling facility in Fresno. Caltrans objected to the size of their share of the clean up initially proposed by the other PRP's and the EPA. After our investigation of the actual volume of oil contributed by Caltrans to the site, Caltans' allocation was reduced by over 60 percent The full story....
Summary: On a case involving a San Francisco contaminated site, we were able to help our client develop a larger PRP list through our well-developed interviewing techniques. This led to a more appropriate allocation of clean-up costs, saving our client a considerable amount. The full story...
Summary: Our work, which provided factual information on the practices of each company on a 13-acre contaminated site in Morgan Hill, allowed our client, Standard Fusee, to be removed as a discharger for purposes of the clean-up orders of the Regional Water Quality Control Board. The full story...
Summary: On an environmental case involving a residential neighborhood built on the site of a former oil reservoir and adjacent to an industrial area, Parrent Smith investigators provided our client with an investigative site history that identified numerous additional PRPs and their contributory activities. The full story...
ENVIRONMENTAL/TOXIC TORT
Summary: Our firm was a lead investigative agency in Newman v. Stringfellow, one of the largest toxic tort trials in the U.S., with over 3,800 plaintiffs. By the time this landmark case went to trial, we had helped to substantially reduce the plaintiff pool. The full story...
Summary:We were the lead investigators in a recent San Gabriel Valley groundwater toxic tort, with more than 1200 plaintiffs. As in the Stringfellow case, we were able to provide information that led to the settlement of many of the cases for greatly reduced dollar amounts. The full story...
Summary: Our firm conducted background investigations on the plaintiffs in litigations in Fallon Nevada, the site of the U.S. Navy's "TOP GUN" flight school, as well as a childhood leukemia cancer cluster. Our investigation brought forth significant credibility issues. The full story...
Summary: Our firm conducted an investigation in Solano County, California, where a housing development was built on a former landfill and several plaintiffs were suing the builder. After our research, including interviews with non-plaintiffs living in homes at the site, Counsel for the defendant housing corporation made a motion for summary judgment for the defendant, that was granted. The full story...
ENVIRONMENTAL / PROPOSITION 65
Summary: In a 2000 Proposition 65 case, our firm's meticulous investigation helped the plaintiff's prove damages and win their verdict. The full story...